Fans and Valleys

August 6, 2018

Map Projected Browse ImageClick on image for larger version

This image, acquired by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on April 29, 2018, shows an impact crater, approximately 23 kilometers across, that is home to fan-shaped deposits that extend from the rim and sit on the interior crater floor.

Thick beds with varying tone are exposed along the edge of the fan. Shallow valleys that carve into the smooth upland surfaces outside of the crater may provide clues regarding the formation of the deposits. Many boulder-sized blocks sit on the interior crater floor beyond the toe (distal edge) of the deposits.

This fan-hosting crater is located near the boundary between Tempe Terra and Acidalia Planitia in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars.

The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 60.4 centimeters (23.8 inches) per pixel (with 2 x 2 binning); objects on the order of 181 centimeters (63.4 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.